How does Tarik Cohen follow up his dynamic rookie season? Emulating Tyreek Hill is a good first step.
The Chicago Bears running back explained on 670 The Score this week that, with former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy now at the reins in the Windy City, Cohen expects and wants to inherit the role Hill played for Nagy in K.C.
"When I was at the combine, coaches would always ask me who I would compare myself to in the league," Cohen said, per The Chicago Tribune, "and I would always tell them Tyreek Hill. I feel that I can do the same kinds of things he does in the Kansas City offense.
"And now since we have their coach now [in Nagy], I feel like I have to live up to that. And I definitely look forward to being the same kind of playmaker."
Drawing comparisons between Cohen and Hill is so easy a caveman can do it. Both are undersized speed demons -- Cohen more so at 5-foot-6 -- with dual- or even triple-threat capabilities on offense and special prowess in the return game.
In Cohen's rookie season, he accounted for five total touchdowns (2 rush, 1 rec, 1 ret, 1 pass!) and amassed 723 yards from scrimmage. The Bears back averaged 9.4 yards per punt return and 22.4 yards per kick return and electrified football fans with his reverse-field return TD against San Francisco.
Through Hill's first two years, the Chiefs wide receiver has displayed greater big-play ability than The Human Joystick. Hill has racked up 20 touchdowns so far, including 12 in his rookie campaign when he earned All-Pro honors. After splitting time as a receiver and runner in his first season, Hill developed into a full-time wideout under Nagy in 2017 and hauled in 75 passes on 105 targets for 1,183 yards, good for 15.8 yards per reception.
Might Cohen see a similar uptick in receiving targets in his sophomore season, as Hill did? He's certainly the more catch-happy back on Chicago's roster; Cohen saw 71 targets last season, while bell-cow back Jordan Howard had just 32.
No matter what schematic changes or role reversals Nagy intends to implement at Bears headquarters this offseason, Cohen is eager to be compared to and judged against Hill, one of the league's rising stars, in hoping he can become one too.
